In addition to allowing the ocean to moderate the temperatures of coastal regions, the high specific heat capacity of water also allows the ocean to contribute to the formation of violent storms. Open the Tracking Hurricane Katrina Learning Tool.. This learning tool displays the path followed by Hurricane Katrina, which hit the southern United States in 2005. If you place your mouse cursor over the dots along the path, you can see Katrina’s category of storm as well as the storm’s maximum sustained winds.
Worked Example
- As Hurricane Katrina traveled over the ocean, what happened to the intensity of the storm? Refer to the Tracking Hurricane Katrina Learning Tool..
- When Katrina reaches the land, what happens to the intensity of the storm?
Click here to show answer
- As the storm travels over the ocean, the intensity of the storm increases. The storm transitions from a tropical or subtropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 63 km/h (39 mph) to a Category 5 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of greater than 250 km/h (155 mph). Just before reaching land, however, the intensity of the storm decreased slightly, to a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 210-250 km/h (131-155 mph).
- When the storm reaches land, the intensity of the storm lessens, until it dissipates entirely.